Achieving a Climate-Change Resilient Farming System through Push–Pull Technology: Evidence from Maize Farming Systems in Ethiopia

Desalegn A Gugissa,Zewdu Abro,Tadele Tefera

doi:10.3390/su14052648

Desalegn A Gugissa, Zewdu Abro + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052648

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Abstract

Building climate-resilient farming systems is important to promote the sustainability of agriculture at the global level. Scaling-up agroecological approaches in main staple crops, such as maize, is particularly important in enhancing the climate resilience of millions of smallholder farmers in developing countries. In this regard, push–pull technology (PPT) is an ecological approach to a farming system that aims to improve the climate resilience of maize producers in a smallholder mixed farming system. PPT is primarily designed to control pests and weeds in an ecofriendly approach, to improve soil fertility, to improve livestock feed, and to increase farmers’ incomes. In this study, we compared the level of climate resilience between PPT maize farming systems and non-PPT maize farming systems in southern Ethiopia. Using the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Self-Evaluation and Holistic Assessment of Climate Resilience of Farmers and Pastoralists (SHARP), we measured 13 agroecosystem indicators of climate resilience and compared the degree to which the two farming systems differ in their level of resilience to climate change. The results indicate that PPT farming systems are more climate-resilient than their non-PPT counterparts. PPT maize farming systems had a significant impact on 8 out of the 13 agroecosystem indicators of climate resilience. To harness the full benefits of PPT, governmental extension agents, NGOs, and agricultural researchers should promote PPT-based maize farming systems. The promotion of PPT needs concerted efforts and strong national coordination in solving PPT implementation barriers, such as improving access to input and output markets and animal health services.

Highlights

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralDeveloping agricultural systems that are resilient to extreme weather events, diseases, weeds, and insect pests is essential for ensuring climate-resilient and sustainable food production
We evaluated whether the push–pull technology (PPT)-based maize farming system produces a higher degree degree of climate resilience than the conventional maize farming
Using the SHARP+ approach, we show that PPT maize farming systems have a higher degree of climate resilience than non-PPT or conventional maize farming systems

Summary

Introduction

Developing agricultural systems that are resilient to extreme weather events, diseases, weeds, and insect pests is essential for ensuring climate-resilient and sustainable food production. Building a resilient farming system and increasing food production sustainably is a longstanding challenge for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) [1,2]. Climate change most likely will increase the threat from biotic and abiotic factors to farming systems in the region [3]. An increase in temperature induced by climate change encourages weed and pest growth [4]. Preventing stresses and shocks is often impossible [7,8], but building resilient farming systems offers a pathway to reduce the vulnerability of millions of smallholder farmers in the region

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